15.3.12

If you
visit Notre Dame(see previous posts), I have already recommended that you take
a look from the back side, which I feel offers a much better view of the once
criticized, today mostly admired, gothic architecture. (The description of
“gothic” was given as a pejorative description of this type of architecture
during the Renaissance; referring to “Goths”, East Germanic “vandals” with
Scandinavian origins - my birth town is called Gothenburg / Göteborg - who played an important role in the fall of the Roman Empire.)

Thanks to
the arriving spring, I could yesterday see the Notre Dame spire behind the
first out bursting magnolias.

But, the
real purpose with this post is to recommend a walk in the little adjacent area
on “Ile de la Cité”, where a lot has been rebuilt, but where you still find
some old buildings, some narrow streets, some nice back yards, some old attractive
looking restaurants …

If we
compare the plan from 1739 with today, we can see that
a lot of buildings, especially those in front of the Notre Dame have
disappeared, some already by Napoleon during the preparations for his coronation as
Emperor. The old hospital, Hôtel Dieu, to the right of Notre Dame has been
demolished and is replaced by a new one to the left (see previous post)…

On this
view from 1550 we can see the great number of churches… Now only Notre Dame
remains.

Referring
to the top picture, where we can read “Rue de la Colombe”, maybe a short story
about the origin of this name. Where we now see a restaurant, possibly one of the oldest
eating place in Paris (which in the 1950’s / 60’s was famous cabaret and later for
some years could announce 3 Michelin stars / macaroons) a couple of doves had
built their nest in a building which collapsed in 1223. The female dove and her
brood were trapped under the stones, but the male escaped and for several weeks
he fed them. The people living in the area were very touched, managed to free
all the birds and this became a place of worship… until forbidden by the
Archbishop as “pagan”.

In the same
street a different cobble stone design indicates where once stood a 4th
century Gallo-Roman wall.

No doubt
that we are close to Notre Dame.

Some of the
streets are still narrow.

A mixture
of really old and some a bit more recent; the really old looking one has been
“arranged” in the 1960’s. The little green sign indicates the level the flood
of the Seine reached in 1910.

Pushing
some doors…

One of
Paris’ smallest “parks” (jardinet).

Some
restaurants, shops…

At the
extreme end of the island, Ile de la Cité, you can find a Memorial to the
Martyrs of the Deportation – photos of the interior not allowed.

... and also in "my" park (Square des Batignolles) there are some nice spring signs.

28 comments:

Your comments on the history of the architecture of Paris are particularly interesting.

One of our contributors wrote a fantastic article on the history of architecture of Paris in 'Architects of the State: Rise and Fall of the Beaux Arts -1', a two piece series on the development of architecture in Paris!

Take a look: http://myfrenchlife.org/2011/10/24/architects-of-the-state-rise-and-fall-of-the-beaux-arts-1/

Ma Vie Francaise - My French Lifehttp://myfrenchlife.org'My French Life™ is a global community & online magazine providing engaging commentary on French society, culture, business, and current affairs'.

Such an informative and fun post, Peter, about Notre Dame.Well, not all of it is fun. We saw the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation last May. I did not know that there were other stars that had to be worn apart from the yellow star worn by the Jewish people. The Memorial showed that the gypsies had to wear a brown triangle, the non-conformist and vagabonds a black triangle, a pink triangle for homosexuals and so forth. It is a somber memorial, but the public garden close to it was full of roses.

Dear Peter,Thanks for these Spring signs!Adorable collages, I like a lot the street lamps, and the charming houses!Here it's a beautiful sunny day, but also cold ( 2C this morning).I hope the Sun can stay a little bit...it's almost weekend! :)I need to go out and take some pictures as well,hugsLéia

A lovely subject for a spring day! Some nice observations here, and great photos, of what - as you say - remains quite an overlooked part of the city.

You mention the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation, but what I find interesting here is that it was previously the city morgue, with large windows where people could observe the fresh corpses (ostensibly to identify them, but really for titillation).

your posts are always unbelievably impressive ! so much attention to the story, the history, the photography, the collage;.it is truly much appreciated and I always adore learning something new about the city which I like so much

Lovely posting about a lovely area of Paris, right in the heart. Brings back lots of memories for me too. After our wedding took place in December 1992 at St Merri, not far away, the reception party was in la rue Chanoinesse, in a beautiful old place which could be rented for parties like that at the time. We later learned that the Aga Khan had an appartment in another part of that building, a pied à terre in Paris...

Oh I love the area around ND. One of my fondest memories is Eva and Davis on the seesaw in that little playground adjacent to the church, and the lovely little park around behind with the fabulous pink roses climbing all over the fence!

beautiful sequence of shots of Spring and the little back streets behind Notre Dame... I am looking forward to my trip to Paris - thanks for the email - will be in touch the week before but is there any day which suits you best that week - either wednes, Thurs or Fri?? I have contacted Owen too to see if he is interested in meeting up...

On my trip to Paris 5 years ago, I visited the Memorial to the Martyrs of the Deportation. I found it very informative, and very chilling.Thank you for your attention to detail in all your posts about the beautiful City of Paris. I always look forward to learning something new. Enjoy your spring sunshine. Here, too, we have spring sunshine, and warm temperatures, very unusual for March in Canada!

Outstanding -- Paul was right! (So yes, he read it but did not comment here, yet.)

I think most of all I loved that story of the doves (too bad it was deemed "pagan" to worship there!) and holy cow!! There were 11 churches besides the Notre Dame in 1550? Seriously? Hmmm, seems like a bit of overkill to me, lol. I guess those were the rather show-offy times of religion, though, what with relics and pilgrimages and showing people just how religious you were. I am so glad I did not live then. LOL. But, I am glad for the glimpse back in time on your research. I would love to have a time machine to see these things as they really were. As it is, I have your posts. You always do such a great job of setting a context for the history of places, and I appreciate it so much. Thank you for making this a good story for us to read!

Catching up and getting so excited about our visit next month. I spent a lot of time on Ile de la Citie when I was there before, including some of the streets in your photos I recognize, but missed seeing the Memorial of Deportation, which is high on my list. Oh, your spring is looking quite lovely! So very excited!

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My previous blog, PHO, was in operation for a year as from March 2007. It contains similar posts as this one, basically talking about different well known or more secrete sites in Paris. You can reach it by clicking HERE.